Dead or Alive?
by Listen.To.Your.Heartx3
Summary: Troy and Gabriella are together, and having their first child. Everything seems to be going perfectly...like a fairy tale. But what happens when Troy mysteriously goes missing?...Troyella TRAILER UP [summary written by ImpactRed520]
1. Trailer

**(A/N: Imagine Zac Efron doing the narrations...)**

**Even to people with the perfect life...**

_Shows Gabriella and Troy talking happily, friends all around them._

**Things can go wrong...**

_Shows Gabriella in a hospital bed, unconcious._

**When that happens, **

**Can they be fixed?**

_Shows Troy by Gabriella's hospital bed, praying. _

**_Fades to black, only Troy's voice is heard_**

"God, if you're really up there...I-I really need help. Gabi doesn't deserve to die. If you're planning on taking her, take me instead."

---

_Shows Troy's car in a ditch, with a reporter in the scene.  
_

**_(Fades out as reporter is talking)_**

"This car was found in a ditch on the side of Frasier Street. A man with blue eyes and brown hair was found dead in the car."

**I suppose that all depends...**

_**Fades in**_

_Shows Gabriella walking in the mall with a two year old waddling beside her. She walks into a man, she mutters an apology and looks up._

**_Screen fades to black, only faint voices are heard_**

"Troy?"

"Gabi?"

**Dead or Alive?**

**Coming soon to a monitor near you.**

**(A/N: So what d'you think? Should I continue it?)**

**EDIT: I edited this trailer, changed it a bit from the original. **_  
_


	2. With All My Heart

**Summary: Troy and Gabriella are married and expecting. But when something goes wrong when she's having her baby, Troy tells the Big Guy upstairs that if he planned on making Gabi die, he'd gladly go in place of her. The next day, Troy's car is found in a ditch. The brown haired, blue eyed man is dead. Is Gabriella stuck with raising a newborn without Troy by her side?**

**(A/N: Ok, I've been wanting to write a HSM fic for the longest time, but I haven't gotten around to it until now...I hope you like it!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own HSM)**

* * *

Gabriella waddled over to Troy and gave him a light tap on the shoulder. 

"Troy? We have to go."

"Alright. I'll wrap up my conversation now. Gimme a few minutes." Troy was talking to Chad, Zeke and Jason about...you guessed it. Basketball. Gabriella crossed her arms.

"Fine. I guess I could always get Sharpay, Ryan, Taylor or Kelsi to drive me to the hospital. At least call Dr. Matthews to tell him to meet us at the hospital." Gabriella said loud enough so Troy would be sure to hear her. She didn't have to say another word. Troy's eyes went wide. The gang said hurried 'goodbye's and 'good luck's to Gabriella as Troy was running around the house like a headless chicken, looking for Gabriella's suitcase.

After about 30 seconds more of frantic running and 'WHERE IS IT!'s, Gabriella calmly pulled the suitcase out of the entrance closet; The same place it had been for the past month. Troy smacked his forehead as she pulled out the suitcase, then made a quick call to Dr. Matthews telling her to meet Troy and Gabriella at the hospital.

"Come on, Troy. Let's go." Gabriella and Troy walked out of the house (Well, Gabriella did. Troy kinda...Well, he was like those dogs that when they're really excited, they'd run like 3 metres ahead of you, then realize you're not there, then run back to you, then run ahead again, then once again, realize you're not right behind them, so they run back...Yea. He was excited.), and Taylor, Chad, Kelsi, Jason, Sharpay, Zeke and Ryan followed.

* * *

When they arrived at the hospital, Tory ran at full speed towards the front desk while the others sat down. 

"My wife is in labour!"

"Wonderful. Please fill out these forms." The woman behind the desk said in a nasely, monotonus tone as she handed Troy a clipboard with about 10 pages of paper clipped to it and a pen.

"Way to kill the mood, lady." Troy muttered as he walked over to a chair to fill out the forms. As Troy sat down beside Gabriella, their doctor, Dr. Matthews walked up to them, with a nurse rolling a wheelchair beside her.

"So, Gabi, are you ready?" Gabriella chucked nervously.

"As ready as I'll ever be."

"Great. So let's get you into a room." Dr. Matthews gestured to the wheelchair, signalling for her to sit in it.

"Err..no. It's ok. I can walk." She didn't like getting around with help. It made her feel weak.

"Gabi, come on. Get in the chair." Troy tried to persuade her as he got up to help her into it.

"No, Troy. I haven't broken my legs or anythi--oh my god!" Gabriella stopped talking and hunched over in pain, grasping Troy's hand tightly while doing so. Troy's eyes were beginning to water because of how hard Gabriella was squeezing his hand. She released his hand after about 20 seconds.

"Now, are you SURE you don't want the chair?" Troy asked with a small smirk on his face. Gabriella glared at him, but sat in the chair anyways. The nurse wheeled her out of the lobby and into a private room and after a few minutes, Troy and Dr. Matthews walked in. She checked Gabriella over.

"Hmm...It's going to be a while. Why don't you take a walk around the hospital?" Gabriella nodded and pushed herself up off the bed she had been lying on (with some help from Troy). They walked silently (and aimlessly) through the halls until Gabriella spoke up.

"Troy...What if something goes wrong?" She asking him in a small voice. He smiled a bit at her fear.

"Gabi, don't worry. Nothing's gonna go wrong. I promise you." He tried to reassure her as he kissed the back of her hand lightly.

"How can you promise that, Troy? It happens to other people."

"But you're not like any other person, Gabi. You're strong, beautiful, talented and smart. And nothing's gonna happen to you." Gabriella smiled a bit.

"Thanks Troy. Let's go back now." They started to walk back to Gabriella's room, just talking about any random things that happened popped into their heads. When they were about halfway there, Gabriella had another contraction. Again she sqeezed Troy's hand rather tightly, as his eyes started to water. After it was over, Troy and Gabriella finished walking the rest of the way back to her room. She lied back down in her bed and her and Troy talked some more until Dr. Matthews walked back in, with a nurse in tow. Dr. Matthews checked her over again.

"Ok, Gabi. I think you're ready for us to bring you into delivery." Gabriella smiled a little, but had a worried look in her eyes. Troy squeezed her hand reassuringly.

"Don't worry, baby. Everything will be fine." He whispered to her as she nodded uncertainly. "I love you." He added as he kissed her forehead.

"Ok, Troy. We have to get you into scrubs. Follow Nurse Jenny, then come into the delivery room when you're ready." Troy nodded then kissed the back of Gabriella's hand before rising and following the nurse out of the room.

"Ok, now let's get _you_ into delivery!" Dr. Matthews noticed the uneasy look on Gabriella's face. "Don't worry, you'll do fine." She reassured her.

* * *

**(A/N: Ok, for the record, I have NO idea if what I'm about to write could possibly happen... but for the sake of the story, let's just pretend it can)**

"Ok, Gabi. Just a bit more and it's over. Try to give me one more push." Gabriella nodded and did as the doctor said. Within seconds, a tiny cry was heard. Gabriella leaned back, smiled, and closed her eyes for a bit, feeling she needed to get some rest. Her world slowly turned to black.

* * *

A quick beeping could be heard on one of the machines Gabriella was hoooked up to. 

"What's that? What's going on?" Troy asked warily.

"I don't know. I think she's going into a coma." Dr. Matthews answered solemnly.

"Coma? Why?"

"I guess her body needs rest." The doctor replied simply.

* * *

Troy was standing outside the nursery, looking through the large window at a little pink bundle. When he had first held his daughter, he noticed she looked exactly liked Gabriella except for her eyes, which were the same blue shade as Troy's. He stood there, thinking about his conversation with the doctor. 

_"What's happening to Gabi?"_

_"She's in a coma."_

_"Well, will she ever wake up?" You could hear the worry in his voice.  
_

_"There's a chance she'll wake up. But--"_

_"But? Why but?" Troy asked anxiously.  
_

_"But her body is trying to rest and gain energy right now. We don't know how long it will be, and..."_

_"Go on..."_

_"The longer she's out for, responsiveness of the brain lessens. If she's in the coma long enough, she could die."_

**(A/N: Again, I'm not sure if this could really happen, so just play along:P)**

When he had finished replaying that event in his head, he realized he had subconsciously made his way to Gabriella's room, and was now sitting by her bedside. "Come on, Gabi. Wake up." Troy whispered to his wife, hoping that it would be like those movies where people tell the person in the coma to wake up, and they do. But this wasn't a movie. It was real life. **(A/N: Or so he thinks...bWAHAHAHAHA) **When Gabriella stayed motionless, Troy sighed and clasped his two hands together and bowed his head, his eyes brimming with tears.

"God, I know I don't talk to you on a regular basis. And I'm not exactly the perfect religious role model. But I know that if anyone can stop a death, it's you. Please, Gabi doesn't deserve this. If you're planning on making her die, just don't. I'll go in place of her. Just let Gabi live and get to see her baby girl grow up. Please God." Troy lifted his head, tears now streaming down his face, to see Sharpay standing in the doorway. He quickly dragged the back of his sleeve accross his face to wipe away the tears. "Hey, Sharpay."

"Hey, Troy. You ok?" Troy sniffed and ran the back of his sleeve accross his face again.

"Yea, I'm good. Just stay with her ok? I'm going home to get a few things. I'm staying here with her until she wakes up," He paused. "If she does."

"Troy, Gabi needs you more than ever now. You can't be thinking like that." Sharpay told him gently. He sighed.

"I know. This is just a really big shock to me. And right now, everything's a possibility." Troy replied as he hung his head and started to walk out the door.

"Troy, wait. Did you mean it?" He gave her a confused look, then realized what she meant.

"With all my heart."

* * *

**(A/N: Ok, so there's the first chapter! How did you like it? I bet you the ending, what Troy said, was kinda predictable, wasn't it? Lol, oh well. This chapter turned out better than I thought it would. But at this point, I don't think my opinion matters much. It's YOUR guys' opinions. So click that little purple button there and let me know what you thought!)  
**


	3. CNN

**(A/N: Wel, thanks for all the reviews, guys! I seriously didn't think my story would be this good:D)**

* * *

Troy was sitting in his car, his head resting on the steering wheel. 

"How could this happen? Gabi doesn't deserve this." He muttered to himself over and over again. He gave one final sigh then reached behind the wheel to put the key in the ignition.

As he drove down the highway, his mind was still on his wife who was, at this time, lying in a hospital bed. His thoughts wandered, but he was soon brought back to reality by a loud honk and two bright headlights facing him straight on. The sight before him caused him to freeze in horror. The two headlights were getting closer and brighter by the second.

"Oh, Shi..." Troy snapped out of his trance and quickly jerked the steering wheel to the right, pulling over at the side of the road. Killing the engine, Troy lay his head back on the steering wheel, taking a few minutes to clear his head.

* * *

Sharpay had dozed off and was sitting in the chair by Gabriella's bedside, and was awoken by a soft rustling sound. She opened her eyes to see Gabriella propped up by her arms, staring around the room in confusion. 

"Gabi! Oh my gosh!" Sharpay exclaimed, reaching over the railing on the bed to hug her friend, relieved that she was ok.

"Hey, Shar. What happened?"

"You went unconcious in the delivery room." Sharpay explained bluntly.

"In the delivery room? Oh my God, is the baby ok?" Gabriella had a worried look on her face and was nearing tears.

"Oh, Gabi, don't worry. The baby's fine. We were all just worried about you." She smiled sympathetically. Gabriella let out a relieved sigh.

"Where's Troy?" She asked, the confused look returning to her face.

"He went home to get some stuff. He said he was gonna stay with you until you woke up." Gabriella replied with a small smile, reminiscing about how good Troy had been to her the years they had been together.

"Oh. I should call Troy and tell him you're awake. I'll be right back." Gabriella nodded and turned on her television as Sharpay slipped out into the hallway. As she surfed through the few channels the hospital had to offer, CNN caught her attention.

_"Over to you, James." _

_"Thanks, Derek. I'm here at the scene of a car accident on Robertson Highway. A car was found in a ditch about an hour ago, with a man with blue eyes and brown hair sitting in the driver's seat. No identification was found."_

Gabriella stared at the car in the background of James the reporter guy and noted that the it looked exactly like their car. With the same license plate number. _No. It can't be. _She whipped her head around and her eyes landed on a brown wallet, in which layed Troy's driver's lisense and all his other forms of identification. At this point, tears were flowing freely down her cheeks. Sharpay walked in confused, staring down at her cellphone.

"Gabi...He's not answering his phone, I guess I could call later or--Gabi, what happened?" Sharpay's eyes shot to the television. As soon as she saw the Bolton's car in that ditch, she immediately understood and within the second, tears were flowing down her cheeks as well.

* * *

**(A/N: Ok, well, I've decided that this story is going to be just a few chapters long. (By the way, not all the chapters are going to be this short. I just thought that would be a good place to end it:P) Maybe about two or three more chapters. Hope you liked that chapter; CHEWY (virtual) CHOCOLATE COOKIES AND RUBBER DUCKIES to those who review;))**


	4. He's not

**(A/N: Thanks to all you guys for reviewing so much! You rock! -types that heart thing with the less than sign then the three, only it doesn't show up cuz fanfic won't let me-  
**

**Well, You know, I never knew whether or not to put a DC for each chapter...**

**Disclaimer: I do not own High School Musical.)**

* * *

Gabriella realized something and stopped sobbing although tears were still slowly rolling down her cheeks. She whispered, more to the group (Sharpay had gone outside to the waiting room and broken down in tears. They all followed her back into the room, wondering what happened. Once their eyes landed on the television, they knew.) than herself, 

"He's not dead."

Taylor, between her sobs, argued, slightly angry. "What do you mean, Gabriella? You saw it yourself!"

"No," Gabriella started, her tears slowly ceasing. "I can feel it. I just overreacted earlier. He's not dead."

Taylor's face expression softened (although you could barely tell through the tears) as did her voice. "Gabriella, you're in denial."

"No. I'm not, Taylor. When you love someone, you just know. I can feel it. He's not." Gabriella replied, quietly.

"Gabi--" Chad started, in a sympathetic tone, but Gabriella cut him off.

"Chad, if you're gonna say something about how I'm wrong and Troy's really dead, I don't need to hear it." At the moment Gabriella finished that sentence, Dr. Matthews walked in.

"Oh good, Gabriella, you're up," Upon realizing the tear stained faces of the others on the room, she asked with a confused look on her face, "What happened? With Gabi having woken up and a healthy baby in the nursery you all should be happy!"

"Troy...was killed in a car accident..." Sharpay choked out. Dr. Matthews facial expression was a mixture of confusion, worry, surprise and sympathy.

"No, he wasn't," Gabriella butted in, a hint of uncertainty in her voice.." Sorry, Doctor Matthews...Anyways, how soon do you think I can get out of here?"

Her facial expressing remaining unchaged, she replied, "I'm going to check you over now, and if you look okay, we can get you discharged probably within the next hour or so. **(A/N: I don't know how long the hospital stay lasts after you have a baby...)**But as for your new daughter," Gabriella smiled a little at the word."She'll probably be here until tomorrow. So we can monitor her," Gabriella nodded slightly and opened her mouth to ask whether or not her friend should leave the room, but Dr. Matthews beat her to it. "They don't have to leave the room, this will only take a second," She checked her heart rate, blood pressure, and basically just did things that would be done during a regular check-up to the doctor's office. "Ok, you're good to go. I'll have a nurse come in to take your IV out." The doctor informed Gabriella as she wrote a few things down on her clipboard and stepped out of the room.

"Gabriella--"

"Jason, no. Don't say anything. No one say anything about this to me. You can believe what you want, and I'll believe what I want." Gabriella cut him off, her voice slightly shaking. Truth was, she didn't know what to believe.

"Ok, Gabi," The nurse started as she entered the room. "I'm going to take your IV out now. If you don't think about it, it won't hurt ok?" Gabriella nodded stiffly. The few times she'd been in the hospital, the IV being put in and taken out was what she hated most. **(A/N: It may be just because I'm a baby, but when I was in the hospital once, I had an IV put in and it hurt then, and it hurt when it was taken out. My hand hurt for about a week after:P) **Ryan, who had been Gabriella's best friend; being there all the times Troy had hurt her, (emotionally, of course) walked over to the girl and held her hand reassuringly. Gabriella winced as the nurse slid the plastic tube out from under her skin. **(A/N: Didn't know an IV was plastic? I didn't either until they took it out:P) **

Gabriella voiced a weak, 'thank you' while the nurse nodded in reply, heading out the door. Dr. Matthews walked in a few seconds later.

"Ok, everything is good and done; You can leave when you're ready." She informed Gabriella with a smile. Gabriella nodded gratefully while voicing another 'Thank you.' She hurriedly ushered the males out of the room so she could change out of that hideous paper gown. Although the girls stayed in the room, no conversation was made during that time. Just an awkward silence.

"Ok, let's go." Gabriella sighed as she gathered up her things and walked into the hallway where the guys were leaning against the wall, waiting for her to be finished changing. But instead of waiting, she walked right past them.

"Gabi! The exit's this way!" Chad called after her, causing the lady behind the desk to give him an evil glare. Gabriella just gestured for them to follow her.

* * *

It was about a five minute walk through the hospital, but Gabriella finally reached her destination. She turned the doorknob and walked into the room, through the rows of babies until she came to one wrapped in a pink blanket with a wristband reading the word 'Bolton.' Gabriella gently picked her new daughter up. The moment she did so, the little girl opened her eyes. The baby's blue eyes captivated her, leaving her thinking about only one thing.

_'Please be okay, Troy.'_

* * *

**(A/N: Ok, sorry about that long wait...It's been almost three weeks, hasn't it? I'm sorry I kept you all waiting for THAT. It was kinda short...Anyways, what did YOU think? I love getting reviews, people! If I come home from a bad day at school, reviews might cheer me up:D :P lol...MOOO!! DRINK MILK!**

**PS: I have no idea where that came from.)**_  
_


	5. It Can't Be

**(A/N: I don't think I've ever told you guys how much I appreciate your reviews...Well, I really do!! And I think I should put a fluff warning on this chapter:P)**

* * *

It had been about two years since Troy's disappearance. Gabriella had accepted the fact that Troy wasn't coming back, but oddly enough, refused to believe that he had died. She had been in the kitchen making sandwiches when a little voice cried out, "Momma!" and a small girl ran into the room. 

"Yea, baby?"

"Mall!" She answered in an exasperated tone. Gabriella started warningly into the girl's blue eyes.

"Aislinn..."

"Okay, sorry Momma." Aislinn apologized happily (as in NOT sorry) as she climed up to a chair at the table.

"We're gonna eat first, 'kay? THEN we can go to the mall." Gabriella reminded her daughter as she placed a crustless peanut butter and jelly sandwich in front of her.

"New clothes for me! Pre-School!" Aislinn threw her arms up into the air excitedly, then settled down and started eating her lunch. Gabriella sat in her chair, watching the girl eat her lunch. The brown hair and blue eyes on that girl reminded her so much of Troy.

"Momma, can I have milk?" Gabriella stared at her daughter until the toddler old got the message. "Oh. Pwease?" Gabriella nodded and walked up to the refridgerator. Seconds later, she brought a sippy cup filled with milk to the table.

"Here, Aislinn."

"Aislinn!" The girl repeated excitedly, pointing her thumb at herself and grinning, showing off her peanut butter covered teeth. Aislinn quickly went back to eating, while Gabriella began to daydream...

_"Hey, Troy?" A twenty one year old Gabriella turned her husband.  
_

_"Hey, Gabi." Troy responded, grinning._

_"I'm thinking we should think of a name for this girl." She stated, patting her enlarged stomach gently. Troy nodded, putting down his clipboard. He walked over to the shelf and pulled out a small blue and pink book._

_"You know, you pulled me out of making plays for this. So if the Wildcats lose next game, it should be on your concience." Troy joked to his wife._

_"Fine. Our baby can go about nameless for her entire life." Gabriella crossed her arms, pretending to be annoyed. Troy, who thought that she was having another mood swing, and thought she was relaly serious, immediately started to apologize._

_"No no no no, Gabi! I didn't mean it! I was just joking!" Gabriella immediately burst out laughing._

_"So was I!" Troy just stared at her blankly then flopped down on the bed, face down on the pillow. He lay there for a while until Gabriella spoke up. "Umm...Troy? We have to pick out names..."_

_"Fine." Troy said, his voice muffled by the pillow. He flipped over and sat up, his back leaning against the headboard of the bed. Opening the book to the first page, the couple began to skim through the page, looking for a name that interested them. After they got through the first few pages, Troy mumbled something._

_"Hmmm?" _

_"Aislinn," He repeated, pointing to the name in the book. "A dream, vision, inspiration..." He trailed off. "We're going to have the most beautiful baby in the hospital." He added, kissing her on the forhead and resting his hand on Gabriella's stomach. Gabriella smiled contently._

_"So you like that name?"_

_"Well, it's the most obvious choice. My dream has come true. I'm married and starting a family with the most gorgeus girl in the world--"_

_"Who? Troy Bolton, are you cheating on me?" Gabriella demanded, playfully._

_"Okay, you caught me," Troy grinned. "Oh, I was supposed to make up an excuse and meet up with her half an hour ago!" He exclaimed, jumping up. Gabriella was watching him with an amused look on her face. Troy chuckled and sat back down, leaning against the headboard, draping his arm accross his wife's shoulders. "You know I love you right? You don't have to worry about me cheating on you." She nodded._

_"I know that," She smiled. "So why is that name the most obvious choice?"_

_"Well, before you so rudely interrupted me, I was going to say, I already know this baby is going to be beatiful. If she looks anything like you, I'm going to have to keep her locked up as soon as she hits twelve. No teen boys with raging hormones are going near my daughter," He explained, seriously. Gabriella laughed. "And last, she's just inspired me to do this;" Troy leaned over and kissed her passionately._

"Momma? All done!" Aislinn spoke up, snapping Gabriella out of her daydream. The toddler ran over to the sink and dumped her tupperware plate into it. "Go?" She looked up at her mother with questioning eyes.

"Yea, baby. Go put on your shoes, Momma will be down in a bit okay?"

"''Kay, Momma." The little girl waddled out of the kitchen to the entryway and began to strap on her pink and purple velcro runners. Gabriella went upstairs to gather the items needed whenever she went out with her daughter. A water bottle, a juice bottle, goldfish and graham crackers, a pair of pull-ups, and some paper towels to clean up the messes that two year olds so often make.

While walking down the hallway, Gabriella glanced into Aislinn's room. She saw a piece of paper on the plastic FisherPrice picnic table, and written about 5 times on the piece of paper, in blue crayon, were some just barely legiable letters that spelled out: Aislinn Emily Bolton. Sure there were a few backwards letters, and they alternated between uppercase and lowercase letters...but the kid was two years old. Aislinn had always been advanced for her age. She was being enrolled in pre-school a year early. **(A/N: I know that pre-k starts when you're 4 in most places. But I don't wanna make Aislinn too old...:P so let's pretend that it starts when you're three...it actually DOES start at three where I live...)** Gabriella started at the piece of paper and started to zone out.

_"Hey," __Gabriella gave a nineteen year old Troy a peck on the cheek. __"How'd it go?" She asked him as they intertwined their hands and began to walk down the snow covered driveway, turning onto the sidewalk._

_"It was good. We're okay now." Troy kicked the snow and sent a few flakes flying _**(A/N: wow. trying saying that 3 times fast...) **_onto the back of the old man walking in front of them. _

_"I'm glad you finally made up. I still don't understand how you could fight with her for a MONTH about something so silly--"_

_"Hey!" Troy defended, holding his hands up. "It was NOT silly! It was a fight for my manliness."_

_"Troy, what you and your mom were fighting about was silly," She repeated. "Maybe if she took your car and left it in the middle of Robson Highway, and it got run over by a semi-truck, THAT would be something to argue about. But fighting with your mom about wiping that spaghetti sauce off your face at dinner-which, I might add, was all over the place- is NOT something to fight about." She stated firmly. Troy sighed._

_"For the last time, it WAS. My manliness is very important to me," Gabriella opened her mouth to say something, but Troy beat her to it. "And it doesn't even matter anymore. It's all finished with. But I have something funny to tell you. You know how my mom is, always telling me about the past," __She nodded her head, gesturing for him to continue. "__I found out that I was going to be named Emily if I was a girl. I also found out that my parents were expecting for me to be a girl. They didn't bother to ask their doctor what I was. Apparently, my mom could already 'tell' that I was going to be a girl. I seriously have no idea how she could 'tell'." Troy stated, using air quotes.  
_

_"Well, you know it wasn't that great an idea to tell me that," Gabriella changed the subject while Troy looked at her confusedly. "Now, I'm gonna have to call you Emily. I'm sorry, Troy. But it's just the way things have to be." She explained seriously, even though she was grinning like the cheshere cat the whole time she was talking. Troy looked amused._

_"Well, I guess that's okay. I've always liked that name, anyways...Emily...sounds like a name one of those adorable toddlers on tv would have doesn't it?" He grinned right back at her, knowing that was not the reaction she was going for._

_"Fine. Be that way." Gabriella mumbled, wriggling out of Troy's grasp, playfully annoyed. She continued to walk on, and didn't notice that her company had fallen back until she felt something cold hit her backside. She turned around to see the blue eyed jock rolling back and forth on his heels, hands clasped together behind his back and rolling his eyes around every which way while whistling. His way of looking innocent. _

_Gabriella quickly picked up a handful of snow and kept walking ahead, secretly shaping the white flakes into a ball. Troy, thinking she might not have felt it, because he was too busy looking in all different directions to see if she had turned around or not, leaned down to create another snowball. While he was busy with that, Gabriella turned around threw the ball of snow, aiming it at Troy's head. As soon as the ball left her fingertips, she turned around and kept walking, as if nothing had happened. Within seconds, she felt a pair of strong arms wrap around her waist. She was picked up and thrown into a sheet of clean snow. She looked around and saw Troy smirking at her.  
_

_"Troyyyy," Gabriella whined. "Now I'm all wet."_

_"Don't you whine at me, that's what you get for throwing a snowball at my head." He retorted, sticking his tongue out at her.  
_

_"But you started it!" She exclaimed._

_"Oh, so we're nine again, are we?" Gabriella just rolled her eyes and held out her hand so her fiance could help her up._

**(A/N: I know, I pretty much only needed to have that part about Troy being named Emily in there...But I thought the other parts were cute, so I kept writing:P)**

"Momma!" A little voice pulled Gabriella back to reality. "Can we go now?"

"I'm coming, Ash," The twenty-three year old said, trotting down the stairs. "So what happens when we get out of the car?" Gabriella asked the child.

"Hands on car." Aislinn recited as Gabriella nodded approvingly.

"Okay, let's go, baby." She held her hand out for her daughter to take. They walked out the door, with Aislinn stating sternly to her mother,

"I'm not a baby!"

* * *

Gabriella and Aislinn had been in and out of stores and now had about three bags of children's clothes. Gabriella had a strange feeling this trip to the mall; she felt happier.

"Momma," The two year old tugged at her mother's pant leg. "I hungee." Aislinn pointed over to the McDonalds a few metres to the left of her. Gabriella sighed, smiling, knowing the girl wasn't really hungry, and just wanted an excuse to have some chicken nuggets or french fries.

"Oh. Do you want some of your gold fishies? Or crackers?" Aislinn shook her head.

"Nuggets!"

"You sure? That's going to be your junk food for the week." Gabriella reminded her. Her family had always been pretty health conscious. Aislinn nodded.

"Okay," The brunette lined up at the McDonalds and ordered some nuggets for the little girl. After a couple of minutes, a little paper bag was placed on the counter in front of Aislinn. She held out her little hands to grab the food. "What do we say?" Gabriella stopped the eager child before she got to the food.

"Oh," Aislinn turned to the McDonalds employee then flashed her a toothy grin as she took the bag. "Thank you!" The employee nodded in reply and smiled back.

"Do you think we have enough clothes now, Aislinn? Do you want to go back home?" The child nodded.

"Sure, Momma." Gabriella took hold of her daughter's hand and began to weave in and out between the people, through the busy food court. Before she knew what was happening, a little voice was asking repeatedly whether or not she was okay, Gabriella was sitting on the floor, and a male voice was picking up her bags and apologizing profusely.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, I--" Gabriella lifted up her head and saw a familiar face. Her eyes widened. It couldn't be. He was gone.

"Troy?" She whispered in a voice just barely audible, cutting the man off. Before she could apologize and explain, the man began to speak again, his face showing the same surprised look.

"G-Gabi?"

"Aislinn!" Aislinn squealed then started to giggle incessantly.

* * *

**(A/N: Sorry this took so long! But, what did you guys think? Well, _I_ think that's the longest chapter I've written in a while. Just to let you people know, Aislinn is pronounced like Ashlin. **

**I know some of you are either too lazy to review or can't think of anything to put in your review, but basically, I just want some opinions on how well I'm doing with the story. So If you can't think of anything to put in your review, (I dunno WHERE I got this idea) just gimme a letter grade like A, B, C, D, F ...hmm.did you ever woner why there's no E? ...lol anyways, review! And thanks for reading!)**


	6. Memories

**A/N: Well, I've decided that for the anynomous reviews I get, I'll reply to them here:P Before I just kinda left them...and didn't reply to them at all...but I thought that if someone took the time to review, I should take the time to reply, right?:P haha so here:  
**

**Kayleigh- I'm glad you're liking the story:D Thanks for reviewing!**

**charli quack-Thank you:P I'm glad you like it;) Here's that update:D**

**HSMandHProxmysox-hehe that's pertty much how I aimed it to be;) Thanks for reviewing! Here's your update!**

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* * *

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**(A/N: All this takes place nearing the beginning of the story.)**

His hands clutched the steering wheel and his head rested on the back of his hands. He still didn't understand it. Why was this happening? He was snapped out of his thoughts when the sound of sirens filled the air. They weren't extremely loud, but they startled him. The sound of sirens were accompanied by yelling.

"Mother F--... Get out of the freaking car!" A man with brown hair and blue eyes came running up to the car yelling at him, his breath fogging up the glass. He froze in surprise. **(A/N: Not fear. Pfft... Of course he wasn't scared. He's too manly to be scared. Haha...guys and their need to be manly...) **"Did you not hear me?!" The man started to yell again. "I said, get out of the car!" The man waited a total of probably two seconds before he realized Troy wasn't going anywhere. He decided he had to use force. The man jerked the car door open, and pushed Troy right over the passenger seat and out the other side of the car, into a bush. On his way out, his head collided with the door of the car. His surroundings faded away, leaving him in blackness.

* * *

The blue-eyed blonde jogged along the road. Currently, only the sound of feet hitting the pavement filled her ears. The relaxing sound was soon drowned out by the sound of sirens and yelling voices. Ahead by about two blocks, she could see flashing red and blue lights; she could see a rather buff man run up to the a car, get in, and she could see another figure being thrust out of the other side of the vehicle. When the young lady realized the figure wasn't moving, she broke out into a sprint. She ran up to the body, and looked into the face of it. It was the face of her ex-boyfriend. The one who left her for the geeky Gabriella Montez. 

An evil grin appeared on her face. She'd never stopped thinking about Troy. Then again, who could? Him being the captain of the basketball team when they went to UNM, nobody DIDN'T think about him. He was like a mini celebrity on that campus.

Those few medical courses she took in university left her with enough knowledge to tell that Troy would most probably have memory loss. It was just a matter of how MUCH memory. If Troy's injuries turned out the way she hoped, she could fix things so they were how they were supposed to be all along. With her and Troy together and that Gabriella girl out of the picture.

She flipped out her phone and dialed 911. Putting on a distressed voice, she told the operator of the situation and was told an ambulance would be with them shortly.

* * *

Troy's eyes fluttered open. His vision began to focus as his eyes adjusted to the light. He sat up and looked around the room which was basically all white, minus the bedside table and the television. 

"Troy!" A voice cried out. Troy whipped his head around to see a blonde woman sitting at his side, fake tears running down her cheeks. Although, Troy couldn't tell they were fake.

"Ciara? Where am I?"

"Yea baby, it's me. You're in the hospital. You slipped on Jed's troy car and hit your head on the corner of the table." The blonde explained through her fake sobs, referring to her little brother.

"But...Didn't we break up?" She frowned and her tears slowly ceased. The doctor said he had lost about seven years of his memory. He wasn't supposed to remember that. She quickly racked her brain for an explaination.

"No, babe. That was just a dream. The doctor said that you would have a few dreams while you were out."

"Oh," Troy was still confused. Something just didn't seem right. But he continued, "How long was I out for?"

"Well," She paused and bit her lip, as if afraid to reveal the news. "Seven years. The doctors didn't think you were going to make it. No one else did either. But I knew you'd wake up eventually, I knew it!"

"Where are Chad, Zeke and Jason?" Troy asked, changing the subject.

"They've all moved on. After a couple of years, they lost hope that you were coming back. So they just forgot about it and moved on," She lied, telling the story with so much emotion that it was believable. Then added in a sickly sweet voice, "But I didn't. I'm so happy you're alive, Troy."

* * *

The next two years went by uneventfully. The two had been talking of marrige, but were not yet engaged. Ciara planted fake memories in Troy's head every once and a while and tried her hardest to keep Troy in the house, for fear of running into Gabriella. They both lived off her rich father, who was the CEO of a rather sucessful company. The whole time, Troy was never truly happy. He had everything; an unlimited supply of money, a hot girlfriend, a huge house...but he knew something was missing. He just couldn't put his finger on it...

* * *

During the last few weeks of summer, Ciara was somehow under the impression that Gabriella had gone away on vacation. She had decided she needed some new clothes and dragged Troy along to the mall with her. 

"What do you think of this shirt, Troy?" Ciara stood in front of the twenty four year old, standing in various different poses, waiting for her boyfriend's opinion. It had been this way since nine in the morning. 'What do you think of this?' 'Does this make me look fat?' 'Oh my gosh, that is, like, so totally awesome!' Okay, she didn't actually say the last one. But it was something along those lines. Troy sighed then stood up.

"You know what? I'm hungry. We left the house before we had breakfast," He watched as Ciara began to pout. He just shook his head and continued. "I'm going to McDonalds. D'you want anything?" She scrunched up her face disgustedly.

"Eeeww...McDONALDS? I'd rather eat like, raw fish or something." The blonde attempted to make a point by saying that, forgetting raw fish was also known as sushi.

"Well, there's a sushi place in the food court, too..." She scrunched up her face again.

"You know what? Just go." The brunette man nodded and jogged out of the boutique. His legs carried him to where he needed to go as his mind wandered to thoughts of how horrible this day had been, thinking he'd rather have stuck his head up a (Insert animal here)'s butt. Apparently, his legs hadn't been doing a very good job of guiding him, because as soon as he entered the crowded food court, he found himself on the floor. He quickly picked himself up and apologized repeatedly, explaining that he hadn't been watching where he was going. Picking up the victim's bags he looked at her, still apologizing. She looked so familiar. The woman looked up at Troy, and her face immediately paled. Upon seeing the woman's face, all memories of the past years instantly came flowing back to him and he stopped mid-sentence as the woman's voice spoke softly.

"Troy?" His mind was racing, it was all so confusing. Why had Ciara said they were together? He knew now that everything she had told him, everything that had happened in the last two years was a lie.

"G-Gabi?" His voice quavered.

"Aislinn!" A little voice squealed out, breaking out in a fit of giggles.

* * *

**(A/N: haha Don't you just love me? I'm leaving you there again:P So what did you think? I don't think this is my best work ever...for some reason, I feel like this isn't written to the best of my ability...But I thought you guys would want the chapter sooner rather than later...so, there you go. R&R!! Thankies! -huggles-)**


	7. You and I Know

**(A/N: Christina-Thanks so much! happy you like it;D**

**Disclaimer: I do not own High School Musical)  
**

* * *

**_Previously..._**

_"Troy?"_

_"G-Gabi?"_

_"Aislinn!"_

"Troy," She repeated again, whispering. "I don't believe it...You're gone, I--" Gabriella trailed off, speechless. Troy watched the woman before him as she began to cry subconsciously. Without hesitation or a word, he dropped the shopping bags clutched in his hands and pulled Gabriella in for a long hug. When he did this, Gabriella, wrapped her arms around his back as if it came naturally. She began to feel again, an emotion she could only remember feeling two years ago; completion.

For the few seconds they were captured in the others' embrace, it seemed like time had stopped just for them, so they could enjoy the others' feel longer. As they pulled away, Troy glanced over to the brown haired, blue eyed little girl who had stopped giggling and was now looking confusedly up at the strange man who had just made her mother cry. Crouching down to her level, he started speaking softly, careful not the scare the child.

"Hi. You're Aislinn, right?" Troy questioned, referring to the name the little girl had squealed out minutes earlier. He looked back up at the brunette. "She's cute. I guess I did a pretty good job on my part." He winked, trying to break the awkwardness. Gabriella, just barely recovering from the shock, gave a sad smile.

"Sorry," She shook her head a little. "Your job was to be there," She paused for a second to run her sleeve accross her face, ridding it of the tears and continued even quieter than before, "Why'd you leave us?"

"I--"

"Troyyyy!" A voice that sounded unbelieveably like a chipmunks' rang through the air. **(A/N: If any of you have ever watched YTV, you know that girl Sugar? ...yea kinda sounds like her voice.) **"I found the cutest shirt! Just look at it! It was only twenty bucks!" Ciara ran through the food court and up to Troy. She screeched to a halt when she realized who was standing in front of her. "Wh-I...Whh..." Gabriella cut off the blonde's stuttering with her soft voice.

"You left us...to be with her?" Ciara managed to find her voice and spoke up.

"You--You're supposed to be on vacation!" She pointed an accusing finger in Gabriella's face, practically hysterical.

"Yea, we were," Gabriella replied, skeptically, wondering how she knew. "But when we got that letter saying that Aislinn was allowed to go into Pre-K a year early, we decided not to go and stay here to get ready." She turned her attention to her two year old daughter who was at the moment, walking uncertainly up to Troy, who was sitting at a table staring blankly ahead, in deep thought.

Once Aislinn got close enough, she gently pulled at Troy's pant leg.

"You okay?" She asked timidly, noticing the look on Troy's face.

"Yea, I'm better now," He smiled, looking down at his daughter. "I'm just a little confused."

"How can you be confused?" Gabriella butted in, her voice rising slightly. "The story is simple. You went off with HER," She pointed to Ciara. Sighing, she continued. "And just...forgot about us." Troy hung his head shamefully.

"You're right. I did," He saw a look of hurt flash in Gabriella's eyes and continued. "But now...I remember." Troy looked his (soon-to-be-ex) girlfriend in the eyes. All he did was glare, she knew what it meant; they were over. But she wasn't going to go down without a fight.

"Troy," Ciara started, smirking. "We should get home. We promised the kids we'd be home in a couple of hours." **(A/N: btw, in case any of you are confused, they don't ACTUALLY have kids, it's just Ciara lying) **That was it. Gabriella looked at Troy sadly. At this point, his facial expression was a mixture of anger, confusion, shock and disbelief.

"Have a nice life, Troy," She took her daughter by the hand and began to walk away. But stopped when she realized Aislinn's feet were planted firmly on the ground. She sighed again.

"Gabi, I didn--"

"Ash, come on. We have to go." She cut in, ignoring Troy.

"No, Momma," Aislinn stated firmly. This was one of the rare occasions she would rebel or disagree against her mother. "Listen." She pleaded. Although she was only two years old, and didn't even know what was happening, her instincts told her something had to be done.

"Aislinn, it's nap time. We have to get home."

"No!" The little girl practically screamed.

"Gabriella, just let me explain!" A small crowd had begun to form around them.

"Explain about what? I get it, Troy! I understand!" Tears brimmed in her eyes. "Just...do what makes you happiest. We have to go. Come on, Ash." She began to walk away, Aislinn having stopped resisting. All the two year old did was look helplessly back at Troy. He started to run after the two figures that were slowly blending in with the crowd, but stopped when his name was called.

"Troy! Don't go after them! If you do, you'll be throwing away everything we had!" Troy turned to Ciara.

"You and I both know we never had anything," He glared. "except for a lie. And that lie is ending now. I'll see you around," He turned to leave, but caught himself first. "You and I also know that that's just an expression." With that, he turned away and broke into a run, in search for the love of his life.

**(A/N: I'm not exactly happy with this chapter. But I don't know what I'm unhappy about:P It might be the cliche antagonist, the predictable plot...Actually, it might be that it seems this is going too fast... Is it?  
**

**And I'm aware that normal two year olds don't act the way Aislinn does...but she's special... xD  
**

**Anyways, I finally got to the part where they REACT to seeing each other...although, one of my reviewers unknowingly suggested that I write another chapter in Aislinn POV:P But I'm not that mean...Actually, I just might be. I was seriously considering it for a bit:P haha well anyways, any thoughts, questions, suggestions...just put it in your review:D**

**PS: I have a one-shot out, co-written with ImpactRed520, it's Ryan-Centric, but give it a chance;) (it's posted on my account, it's called 'Dreaming') We (ImpactRed520 and me) also have a Christmas one-shot out, called 'Under the Mistletoe' (On ImpactRed520's account, for some reason, it doesn't show up when you search 'Under the Mistletoe,' so you have to type in 'ImpactRed520' and go see it in his profile...sorry about that)****  
**

**And on a completely unrelated topic, I seriously don't understand those Tryan (Troy/Ryan) stories. I mean, I can understand about Ryan, but where exactly does Troy come off as gay??? Haha, no offense to people who write Tryan...I just had to get that out.**

**MOVING ON (that was along A/N), go review;))**


	8. The End?

**(A/N: Cries A Lot-I actually love all the songs on her album! I could listen to any of them all day...except for Psychic. But I think my favourites (I can't pick just one) would be Promise, Let Go, Come Back to Me, Never Underestimate a Girl and Say Ok)**

* * *

Troy weaved in and out, through the crowd, speeding up with each second. 

"Gabi!" He kept calling her name, hoping she'd stop and listen to what he had to say. He finally caught up to her in the parking lot while she was moving her arm around in her purse, searching for her car keys.

"Gabi, can you just let me explain!" Troy yelled to her, his sentence more of a command than a question. She turned to face him, revealing her tear stained face. Tears were still steadily running down her cheeks, black smudges coming from her eyes because of her makeup.

"I thought we already went over this, Troy," Gabriella started, her hand still groping around the bottom of her purse. "There's nothing to explain." He tried explaining to her.

"But Gabi, it wasn't my fault!"

"How is it not your fault, Troy?" She screamed back at him, her voice cracking. Aislinn, at this point, was almost in tears listening to all the yelling. "Did Ciara have a gun to your head, telling you that if you didn't go with her, she'd shoot you? Because if she did, I'd forgive you, but I REALLY doubt that happened!" Gabriella finally pulled her arm out of her purse, keys in hand. "I have to go." She whispered, opening the side door and lifting Aislinn up into her car seat. She speed walked around to car to the driver's side, hoping Troy would just leave her alone. She didn't need this.

"Gabriella! Please, just listen to me!" Troy pleaded, standing in front of the door, blocking Gabriella's entrance to her car. She looked skeptical, so Troy added sadly, "Just let me explain. Then I'll leave you and Aislinn alone if you want me to. I just want a chance." Sighing, Gabriella held up two fingers.

"Two minutes. That's it." He flashed her a grateful smile and began telling her his memories of the past two years. **(A/N: Sorry I'm not writing it out. I don't really like to do that. It makes it seem like the character's rambling.) **Once he concluded his explaination, Gabriella glanced at her watch and realized he'd been talking for ten minutes. Tears were still running down her cheeks, but this time, only because she was angry at herself for yelling at him earlier and not letting him explain.

"God, Troy...I'm so sorry." She began to sob as Troy pulled her into him, letting her cry into his chest, soaking his shirt.

"So, do you forgive me?" He asked her quietly, rubbing her back soothingly.

"Of course," She smiled up at him. "Do you forgive me?" Gabriella felt Troy's hand on her neck as he leaned down and planted his lips on hers in response.

* * *

**(A/N: K, guys. That's the end! Sorry if it was a sucky ending...That was actually how I imagined it...I just thought when I typed it out it would be longer...  
**

**I was thinking of making a sequel to this...But then again, I have SO many story ideas right now:P So if you want a sequel, review saying so, and depending on your guys' response, I'll either write a sequel or not.**

**Thanks for reading! Hope you liked it!)**


	9. Thanks!

**I just wanted to say, thank you to everyone who reviewed!:**

_**Erin**_

_**zanessasgirls **_

_**88keys**_

_**Troyellameant2be**_

_**funky-monkey-93**_

_** RocklifeDude**_

_**Kat Kat B.**_

_**xoxo-jeniie-xoxo **_

_**HSMandHProxmysoxx**_

_**XJust.Like.ThatXx**_

_**Miss Brunette Babe**_

_**charmarctravis**_

_**Blabsey91001**_

_**actingalexis13**_

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_**hsmrocks**_

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_**SimpleeLovely673**_

_**Cries A Lot **_

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_**musicalfreak**_

_**Sue **_

_**SimpleeLovely673**_

**Wow. I only just noticed how many people that actually is. Anyways, thank you guy so much for all your reviews! Based on the response I got from you, I WILL be doing a sequel, but I might wait a while. I'll probably be coming out with a couple other stories first, so look out for those...  
**

**-Larabaybee **


	10. Author's Note PLEASE READ

**Author's Note:**

**Hey, everyone:)**

**I just wanted your guys' opinion on something. As promised, I will be making a sequel. And I DO have an idea for it, but I'm afraid it might be a little boring. So I want your opinion on whether or not, if I end up posting it, you will, in fact, read it. It's basically Troy and Gabriella with kids. Life with teenagers, life with children, dealing with it all. It'll be a little more realistic than Dead or Alive? was. Please just let me know. Whether it be through PM, review, heck, SKYWRITER...Just let me know;) If I don't get many responses telling me that they'd read it, I probably won't end up writing the sequel. Thanks for your guys' support through this story:)**

**Keep on rockin',**

**-Lara xxx**


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